THE BUZZ: While development was ongoing for Assassin’s Creed III Rockstar released Red Dead Redemption, containing a few similar features. The similarities between the two games comes down to “a convergence of minds,” according to ACIII lead writer Matt Turner.

The team was already working on animal hunting and frontier exploration when Red Dead Redemption released, containing the same features. Once they had played through the game they realized just how they could improve it and do better.

“I think it’s a convergence of minds. When people are thinking about the same topic at the same time, they’re bound to have some ideas come around at about the same moment,” Turner explained to CVG. “We’d been working on the animal and the frontier stuff and then [Red Dead Redemtpion] came out. We saw it, played it cover to cover, and it was less of an ‘oh shit’ and more of a ‘aha! How can we do better than that?'”

“Because that’s something that Rockstar does – it always strives to be the best. They always try to push things in new directions and I think we need to do the same thing,” he added. “As a team we saw how good [Red Dead] was and how they had tons of success and we were like, ‘OK, let’s look at their success and see how we can take it in new directions.’ That’s what I think we’ve tried to do.”

EGM’s TAKE: It’s always difficult when a game releases before yours, containing features that you planned to use. But good developers, like the Assassin’s Creed team, take it in their stride and aim to do even better. Red Dead Redemption released to critical acclaim, and the frontier exploration was a major part of its success. However, there is no doubt that Assassin’s Creed III will also release to critical acclaim, regardless of any Red Dead similarities, given the success of every previous title in the franchise.

About Matthew Bennett

Matt is one of the longest-serving members of the EGMNOW team. An ability to go many hours without sleep and a quick wit make him ideal for his role as associate editor at EGMNOW.com. He often thinks back to the days when the very idea of this career seemed like nothing but an impossible dream. Find him on Twitter @mattyjb89

While development was ongoing for Assassin's Creed III Rockstar released Red Dead Redemption containing a few similar features. The similarities between the two games comes down to "a convergence of minds," according to ACIII lead writer Matt Turner.

THE BUZZ: While development was ongoing for Assassin’s Creed III Rockstar released Red Dead Redemption, containing a few similar features. The similarities between the two games comes down to “a convergence of minds,” according to ACIII lead writer Matt Turner.

The team was already working on animal hunting and frontier exploration when Red Dead Redemption released, containing the same features. Once they had played through the game they realized just how they could improve it and do better.

“I think it’s a convergence of minds. When people are thinking about the same topic at the same time, they’re bound to have some ideas come around at about the same moment,” Turner explained to CVG. “We’d been working on the animal and the frontier stuff and then [Red Dead Redemtpion] came out. We saw it, played it cover to cover, and it was less of an ‘oh shit’ and more of a ‘aha! How can we do better than that?'”

“Because that’s something that Rockstar does – it always strives to be the best. They always try to push things in new directions and I think we need to do the same thing,” he added. “As a team we saw how good [Red Dead] was and how they had tons of success and we were like, ‘OK, let’s look at their success and see how we can take it in new directions.’ That’s what I think we’ve tried to do.”

EGM’s TAKE: It’s always difficult when a game releases before yours, containing features that you planned to use. But good developers, like the Assassin’s Creed team, take it in their stride and aim to do even better. Red Dead Redemption released to critical acclaim, and the frontier exploration was a major part of its success. However, there is no doubt that Assassin’s Creed III will also release to critical acclaim, regardless of any Red Dead similarities, given the success of every previous title in the franchise.

About Matthew Bennett

Matt is one of the longest-serving members of the EGMNOW team. An ability to go many hours without sleep and a quick wit make him ideal for his role as associate editor at EGMNOW.com. He often thinks back to the days when the very idea of this career seemed like nothing but an impossible dream. Find him on Twitter @mattyjb89